The Reason We're Here

Our strap line/the dream/Joy Cafe's reason for being is to be "a lush little cafe with a big heart for building life-giving community".

According to the stats (The English Indics of Deprivation) our area is one of the most deprived in the South West. That means many in our immediate vicinity live in extremely challenging circumstances and face struggles related to poor health, high crime, bad housing, low income, addiction etc. We live here too but have eyes that see beyond the stats, hearts that love, hands that are skilled in serving great coffee, and a calling to build a community that gives life rather than saps it outta people! We're a dream team committed to transformation, on an individual and geographical level. 

We do everything we can to make people feel welcome, from genuine smiles and meaningful conversations, to our 'Pay it Forward' and 'Pay What You Like' schemes, to amazing workshops and free family fun days. 

We simply do what we can to bring JOY and build COMMUNITY in our little part of the world. It helps that we're a non-profit, keep our prices low, are run by super friendly staff and amazing volunteers, and are linked with an awesome church.

Students often come to study our area of "extreme deprivation". One of their survey questions is, "what 3 words would you use to describe this area?". Shockingly to them but beautifully for us, 'joy' and 'community' came up more than anything else!

A little girl said to her mum, "Mum, I know why they call it Joy Cafe. It's because you feel joy here!".